Please read this article - respond to the following prompts
What do you think the US should do in Afghanistan? Explain your answer
Why is it so difficult to change the mindset of the Afghans?
Speculate - what do you think could happen if the US and other international troops leave Afghanistan?
I think the United States should continue to go through with its scheduled drawdown of forces. I think this would be appropriate because the circumstances at home and abroad. With a bad domestic economic problem the support of the American people for the war has been steadily decreasing. I think it is difficult to change the mindset of Afghans is because the only time you hear about US troops are the bad things you do. So the most Afghans are only aware of the negative things. I think that when US and international troops leave there can be two separate outcomes. One the Afghan forces may be able to continue the fight against the Tailban or on the opposite the forces wont be able to protect the country and the Tailban could return.
ReplyDeletei think we should get out of there its just a waist of money at this point and we should send about 80000 men home bc the other countries dont have more than 10000 in there.
ReplyDeleteSince my dad has been there, he has experienced the Afghan people in first person. I have heard a lot of stories about how some were mad , but a lot of them are happy. Woman now have the freedom to walk around without a man, and can now be independent. But, what should we do in Afghanistan ? I say a number of surges would be the best option. I say we should put a extra 10,000 troops on the ground to help quell Al-Quada and Taliban rebels in the northern region. Just look at history, when the tet offensive happened , the US basically destroyed all the attacking armies and started to turn the whole tide of the war but it was the public opinion that lost the war. So , we should learn from past mistakes and stay to finish the job. (basically a cleansing of anti-us forces in Afghanistan)
ReplyDeleteWe can learn from history, we just have to listen to what it is trying to show us
I think the U.S should get some of the troops out of there, because it is hurting our economy back home at this point. I think it is kind of difficult to change the mindset of Afghans, when the only thing they hear about Americans, is the negative side of us. I also think if the United States and international troops leave the Taliban could return and break pass the Afghan forces.
ReplyDeleteI think that we should stay in Afghanistan to make sure that it doesn't revert to its old ways, but eventually we should leave because they need to figure out how to handle their national issues without relying heavily on foreign aid. Most afghans view us as the enemy because of past actions where we installed dictators into their society who supported our ideals. If our troops leave Afghanistan is more than likely to revert to its old ways.
ReplyDeleteThis is SAM LOURIE responding:
ReplyDeleteI think that the US should bring all of our troops home. I think we have been there long enough and we should not be involved with it anymore. There is nothing we can do to change the Afghans thoughts, because all of it is coming from their religion. Our economy is going down and we spend a whole lot of money on the war, I think there are more pro's than con's in bring the troops home from Afghanistan. Troops families back home miss them and I think bringing everyone home would change everything about America in a great way. I think we have done enough there as of now, and should come home.
After all the knowledge I gained about the war in Afghanistan; I really don't know what the US should do. I'm all for pulling the troops out of this war but, I'm also for fixing the problem we caused in the first place. We have not yet contained the islamic fundamentalism going on in Afghanistan, Also America is trying to rebuild the country of Afghanistan but these attempts are killing our troops everyday and that not right; but its also not right leaving the country unfinished. I'm in the middle on this one
ReplyDeleteI think that the U.S. should leave out of Afghanistan immediately. We have been there for more than a decade and I think that it is time to bring are hardworking men and women home. The U.S. has done everything that it can possibly do. It is time for us to let the government and people of Afghanistan live, work, and survive on their own. It is so difficult to change the mindset of most Afghans because the values which they have now, have been instilled in them for centuries. Their mindsets and thought processes stem from years and years of conflict and strife that they have been involved in since the beginning of time. The U.S., along with other countries, is pulling their troops out of Afghanistan. They are withdrawing their troops before 2013. It is safe to conclude that if the U.S. and other nations were to withdraw their troops Afghanistan, al Queda would probably seize the government again.
ReplyDeleteif al queda seized the government again (which i think would happened) then what was the point in staying there? doesn't that mean the people who did die , died for nothing. That should be a reason to stay, so in tel the Afghan government is strong enough to fight against the al Queda.
DeleteLook at history , when we handed over the war in Vietnam to south Vietnam. It didn't end well just to leave Vietnam, and it won't end well here either. The main reason we are in all this trouble right now is because we never look towards the long term effects of decisions , Just like this.
God Bless the Troops :)
What I think the U.S. should do is to continue to try and stabilize things over there and stop the destruction. They should try to continue to teach them the right tactics that will help them bring up a good government and a better country. The reason I think that it is difficult to change the mindset of the Afghan people is that they have been doing the some things for years. So for the U.S. coming in the country trying to tell them what we think is right is kind of hard because they probably fell as though we are trying to change their lifestyle into ours. If the U.S troops leave right now, I think it would be kind of crazy. The reason is because the U.S is the one teaching them new tactics to help their country and if we leave they will be sitting ducks not knowing what to do.
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ReplyDeleteI think that we should continue with our scheduled withdraw of forces from Afghanistan. Staying in Afghanistan is not the best option for us as a nation. The support for our troops in Afghanistan is all but gone because (like Mr. Nelson said) the Afghan people only hear the terrible news of the few not-so-shining stars in our military. If we decide to stay in Afghanistan, I believe that eventually it would lead to some kind of war with an outcome of something serious, like Vietnam.
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ReplyDeleteAfghanistan... a war that the United States launched preemptively. This was only a project of special interest groups that used the attacks of 9/11 as a cover to hijack American foreign policy and implement their private agendas. These special interest groups include the military-industrial complex (something President Eisenhower warned us about), the professional armed forces, close American supporters of and advisers to the Likud Party in Israel, and neoconservative (chicken-hawks) enthusiasts for the creation of an American Empire. The Afghan war resulted in easy American victories, but soon reerupted when there was guerrilla struggles of attrition. Experience has shown that high-tech armed forces are inappropriate, overly blunt instruments used against terrorists and guerrillas.
ReplyDelete"You will often hear self-styled conservatives say, 'I support the free market and a strong national defense.' But if by supporting a 'strong national defense' they mean supporting a large and aggressive conventional military — as they almost invariably do — these two positions are mutually exclusive. A military establishment funded by taxation, inflation, and debt is just as destructive to the market economy as a welfare establishment funded by taxation, inflation, and debt." (http://mises.org/daily/5925/Military-Spending-and-Bastiats-Unseen)
What should have happened was the call for international police cooperation to hunt down the terrorists (responsible for 9/11 which was merely blow-back for our actions back since the 1950s)and changes in foreign policy to separate militant activist from their passive supporters, whose grievances need to be addressed. The objective should have been to turn supporters into informers against the militants, thereby allowing them to be identified and captured. We went to Afghanistan to capture (or kill) the terrorists responsible for 9/11 - not destroy their land and nation-build!
Instead, the United States came up with a cynical and destructive strategy. It sent CIA agents to Afghanistan with millions of dollars to bribe the same warlord armies that the Taliban had defeated to reopen the civil war, promising them air support in their new offensive. The warlords overthrew the Taliban government and soon returned to their old ways of regional exploitation and Afghanistan descended into Anarchy. The Pentagon claimed a stupendous U.S. victory in Afghanistan, but in fact, had became a more virulent breeding ground for terrorists. In one year after Afghanistan's "liberation," the opium, heroin, and morphine, controlled by America's warlord allies, increased 18 times, from 185 to 3,400 tons. British Prime Minister Tony Blair admitted in January of 2003 that 90 percent of the heroin consumed in Britain came from Afghanistan. ("Blowback: The Costs and Consequences of American Empire" by Chalmers Johnson)
"Beware the leader who bangs the drums of war in order to whip the citizenry into a patriotic fervor, for patriotism is indeed a double-edged sword. It both emboldens the blood, just as it narrows the mind. And when the drums of war have reached a fever pitch and the blood boils with hate and the mind has closed, the leader will have no need in seizing the rights of the citizenry. Rather, the citizenry, infused with fear and blinded by patriotism, will offer up all of their rights unto the leader and gladly so. How do I know? For this is what I have done. And I am Caesar." ~Julius Caesar
"Imagine for a moment that somewhere in the middle of Texas there was a large foreign military base, say Chinese or Russian. Imagine that thousands of armed foreign troops were constantly patrolling American streets in military vehicles. Imagine they were here under the auspices of “keeping us safe” or “promoting democracy” or “protecting their strategic interests.”
ReplyDeleteImagine that they operated outside of US law, and that the Constitution did not apply to them. Imagine that every now and then they made mistakes or acted on bad information and accidentally killed or terrorized innocent Americans, including women and children, most of the time with little to no repercussions or consequences. Imagine that they set up check points on our soil and routinely searched and ransacked entire neighborhoods of homes. Imagine if Americans were fearful of these foreign troops, and overwhelmingly thought America would be better off without their presence.
Imagine if some Americans were so angry about them being in Texas that they actually joined together to fight them off, in defense of our soil and sovereignty, because leadership in government refused or were unable to do so. Imagine that those Americans were labeled terrorists or insurgents for their defensive actions, and routinely killed, or captured and tortured by the foreign troops on our land. Imagine that the occupiers’ attitude was that if they just killed enough Americans, the resistance would stop, but instead, for every American killed, ten more would take up arms against them, resulting in perpetual bloodshed. Imagine if most of the citizens of the foreign land also wanted these troops to return home. Imagine if they elected a leader who promised to bring them home and put an end to this horror.
Imagine if that leader changed his mind once he took office.
The reality is that our military presence on foreign soil is as offensive to the people that live there as armed Chinese troops would be if they were stationed in Texas. We would not stand for it here, but we have had a globe straddling empire and a very intrusive foreign policy for decades that incites a lot of hatred and resentment towards us.
According to our own CIA, our meddling in the Middle East was the prime motivation for the horrific attacks on 9/11. But instead of re-evaluating our foreign policy, we have simply escalated it. We had a right to go after those responsible for 9/11, to be sure, but why do so many Americans feel as if we have a right to a military presence in some 160 countries when we wouldn’t stand for even one foreign base on our soil, for any reason? These are not embassies, mind you, these are military installations. The new administration is not materially changing anything about this. Shuffling troops around and playing with semantics does not accomplish the goals of the American people, who simply want our men and women to come home. 50,000 troops left behind in Iraq is not conducive to peace any more than 50,000 Russian soldiers would be in the United States.
Shutting down military bases and ceasing to deal with other nations with threats and violence is not isolationism. It is the opposite. Opening ourselves up to friendship, honest trade and diplomacy is the foreign policy of peace and prosperity. It is the only foreign policy that will not bankrupt us in short order, as our current actions most definitely will. I share the disappointment of the American people in the foreign policy rhetoric coming from the administration. The sad thing is, our foreign policy WILL change eventually, as Rome’s did, when all budgetary and monetary tricks to fund it are exhausted." (Dr. Ron Paul's speech)
We need to be more cautious about our actions abroad, they promote reactions which hurt us in the long-run. We need to look at the bigger picture. We need to take a look at history rather than the propaganda made by the Federal Government (particularly by the Bush Administration).
‘Kill the infidel’ is the phrase many people believe is the ideology that Muslims have towards the non Muslims. This, though, is not a correct portrayal of Islamic law. Islam has always given respect and freedom of religion to all faiths. In the Quran it says “God does not forbid you, with regards to those who fight you not for religion nor drive you away out of your homes, from dealing kindly and justly with them, for god loves those who are just.” There are many historical examples of Muslim tolerance towards other faith - for instance, when the caliph Umar was ruler of Jerusalem from 634 to 644 AD. He granted freedom to all religious communities and said that the inhabitants of his city were safe and that their places of worship would never be taken away from them. He also set up courts that were designated to the non Muslim minorities. Whenever he would visit holy areas he would ask for the Christian patriarch Sophronius to accompany him. There is a conduct of war - ten rules that every Muslim army must obey:
ReplyDelete1. Do not commit treachery
2. Do not deviate from the right path
3. Do not mutilate dead bodies
4. Do not kill children
5. Do not kill women
6. Do not kill aged men
7. Do not harm or burn trees
8. Do not destroy buildings
9. Do not destroy an enemy’s flock, unless you use it for your food
10. When you pass people who have devoted their lives to monastic services leave them alone
During the crusades when Saladin defeated the Franks he honored the defeated Frankish army and supplied them with food and during the third crusade when Saladin’s enemy king Richard fell sick, Saladin sent him a gift of fruits and horses. Although there are Muslim countries in the world that do implement many harsh rulings against women, this should not be portrayed as Islamic law. Many of these countries have cultural differences that go against the teachings of Islam. It should be noted that during pre-Islam Arabia women were used for fornication only and had no independence. The birth of a daughter in a family was considered humiliating and the practice of female infanticide was uncontrolled. When Islam came to being, verses in the Quran condemned the practice of female infanticide. Islam gave back many human rights to the woman and Muhammad(s) was even reported saying that “women are the twin halves of men.” A Muslim woman is allowed to reject and accept any suitor for marriage and has the right to seek divorce. There is nothing in Islam that forbids a Muslim woman from exiting her house and is allowed to drive. Also in regards to education, a woman is obligated to seek knowledge and it is considered a sin if she refuses. Terrorism by far the biggest misconception of Islam, given unfairly by stereotyping and the public image that the media gives. Has anyone else noticed how when a specific group of people attack another group of people it is labeled as a ‘hate crime’, but when a Muslim opens fire on anybody it is quickly regarded as ‘terrorism’. Many political dictators and officials or extremist groups use the name of Islam as a strategy to garner followers and attention when many of their practices go against the true basis of Islam. The media has also portrayed Islam as a cult or a club where if you join you become a terrorist and that is now part of your agenda. However all over the world people practice Islam in the true form and use it as a way of life. There are many verses in the Quran that go against the idea of terrorism. Some of these verses include “fight in the way of Allah those that fight you but do not transgress limits for god does not love transgressors.” This basically means do not fight except in self defense and even in doing so do not go beyond defense. Another verse states “if they seek peace, then you seek peace,” which means do not attack people for no reason or kill innocent people. There is nowhere in Islam, whether it be in the Quran or the teachings of Muhammad, that promotes the killing of innocent people. (http://listverse.com/2009/07/10/top-10-misconceptions-about-islam/)
The US should remove its troops, and leave a couple hundred incase something goes wrong. It is difficult to change Afghan minds because its not a political idea, but a religious one that we are fighting against. I think that if all troops left Afghanistan, it would immediately go back the way it was before, possibly worse.
ReplyDeleteI think that the US should remove troops from afghanistan. They have been there for too long and nothing seems to be happening. I think they should be slowly pulled out of the war so it dies down instead of hitting all at once. Its a tough decision but I think everyone has had enough. Government should proceed with the scheduled time for groups to leave. It is the best choice I believe. I also think if it doesn't end now.. it never will.
ReplyDelete-LAUREN MAYER
I believe that the US should remain in Afghanistan for a bit longer. We have already spent 11 years there since 9/11 and have come so far. I do not like having our own troops away over there, but if we pull out too early, all that they worked for could be lost. Afghanistan is showing development and progress in being independent, but they still have much to go before being set off on their own. It took so long to change their mindset because everyone believed in it entirely when we got there. Not only did we have to teach them about a new mindset, but we also had to convince them that it is right. It is just like trying to convert someone to another religion that they have been believing in their entire life. We can't just come and expect them to convert right away; it takes time. We don't know what will happen if foreign troops pull out, all we can do it prepare them and point them in the right way.
ReplyDeleteIf our troops leave afghanistan, i think that all of this time spent there and battles fought will have been a waste. afghans will most likely go back to original ways. Afghans only hear about the negative things we do and don't ever focus on positive things. Their mindset stays negative because of what they are hearing.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard for Afghans to changer their mindsets because they are so used to their ways. I'm sure that if someone tried to come into our country and change our ways we would probably rebel against them too. If the troops were just to leave it would be somewhat of a bittersweet moment because it would be good that they are coming back but it would also seem like it was a waste of time for them to have been there all that time.
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